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Description area

History

Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is the archives of the State Government of Victoria. Established under the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic), PROV’s objectives are to:

issue standards regulating the creation, maintenance and security of public records including the selection and disposal of public records not worthy of preservation;

advise and assist agencies in achieving compliance with issued standards;

preserve public records of permanent value as the state archives; and

ensure that the archives are accessible to the government and the people of Victoria.

Geographical and cultural context

Mandates/Sources of authority

Administrative structure

Public Record Office Victoria is an agency of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Records management and collecting policies

Public Record Office Victoria has responsibility to select records of the government of Victoria that are worthy of preservation as set out in the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic).

Buildings

Visit the reading room at the Victorian Archives Centre at 99 Shiel Street North Melbourne. We also have reading rooms in Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong. See our website for details.

Holdings

We hold around 100kms of records dating from 1830s right up to the present day. Our impressive collection includes records of immigration and shipping, criminal trials and prisons, premiers and governors, royal commissions, boards of inquiry, wills and probates and much more. These records hold stories of the key events and decisions that have shaped the history of the State of Victoria.

Finding aids, guides and publications

Access area

Opening times

Victorian Archives Centre: Open Monday to Friday 10am-4.30pm (excluding public holidays) and the second and last Saturday of every month.

See our website for Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong reading room times.

Access conditions and requirements

Accessibility

Public Record Office Victoria is committed to ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities and special needs. We have a free all-day carpark, entry off Macaulay Road, which includes two disabled parking bays. There's also disabled street parking out the front of our building on Shiel Street - please note street signage for times. We have wheelchair access, lifts and disabled toilets.

Services area

Research services

Public Record Office Victoria provides a range of services and resources to assist members of the public with their research. It does not provide a research service so researchers may wish to engage a professional research agent, request advice from historical associations or societies, in order to undertake research.